Highly efficient environment-friendly air type heat exchanger

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is an eco-friendly high-efficiency heat exchanger for exchanging indoor air with outdoor air. The heat exchanger includes a housing which defines a main body of the heat exchanger and has on both sides thereof an indoor air inlet for introducing the indoor air into the housing and an indoor air outlet for discharging the indoor air from the housing. A first plate is inserted into the housing, and has a thin sheet and a protrusion which is provided along an edge of the thin sheet in such a way as to protrude out and is open at predetermined positions on the protrusion to provide an entrance and an exit. A second plate is placed on the upper or lower portion of the first plate, and has a thin sheet and a plurality of protrusions which protrude along the length of the thin sheet in parallel. Here, a plurality of first and second plates is alternately layered.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to eco-friendly high-efficiencyheat exchanger and, more particularly, to an eco-friendlyhigh-efficiency heat exchanger which has an air inflow and outflowfunction, a heat exchange function, and a dust eliminating function.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional ventilation fan includes a fan motor which simplydischarges contaminated indoor air to the outside, and a shutter whichprevents outdoor air from flowing into a room through the ventilationfan.

In the case of ventilating a room, a user opens a window to let freshair in. Thus, the operational efficiency of an air cooling or heatingdevice is low, and optimum air conditioning operation is impossible.

Further, a conventional heat exchanger includes an exhaust fan to havethe exhaust function of discharging indoor air to the outside, an intakefan to have the intake function of drawing air into a room, and a heatexchanger module to have the function of exchanging heat between indoorair and outdoor air.

As for outdoor air sucked in by the intake fan, installing a filterwhich absorbs fine dust laden in the outdoor air and removes the finedust has been considered. Generally, the filter is installed in aninterior side from the heat exchanger module, especially, a portionthrough which outdoor air flows into a room.

However, if the filter is placed at an exterior side from the heatexchanger module, rough dust as well as fine dust adheres to the filter,thus causing the filter to clog quickly. Meanwhile, when the filter isarranged at an interior side from the heat exchanger module, a largeamount of dust adheres as if there was no filter, so that the passage ofoutdoor air is blocked. In order to solve the problem, it is required toinstall a filter, namely, a pre-filter at a side outside the heatexchanger to absorb and eliminate dust.

However, the installation of the pre-filter increases production cost,so that cost is increased and it is difficult to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping inmind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of thepresent invention is to provide an eco-friendly high-efficiency heatexchanger, which is capable of discharging contaminated indoor air,introducing fresh indoor air, and performing a heat exchange process,thus minimizing a difference in temperature between indoor air andoutdoor air, and always keeping temperature and humidity constant,therefore achieving a pleasant and healthful indoor environment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an eco-friendlyhigh-efficiency heat exchanger, which removes fine dust from outdoor airusing a filter unit and can be produced at low cost, thus beingpractical and superior.

In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention providesan eco-friendly high-efficiency heat exchanger for exchanging indoor airwith outdoor air. The heat exchanger includes a housing which defines amain body of the heat exchanger and has on both sides thereof an indoorair inlet for introducing the indoor air into the housing and an indoorair outlet for discharging the indoor air from the housing. A firstplate is inserted into the housing, and has a thin sheet and aprotrusion which is provided along an edge of the thin sheet in such away as to protrude out and is open at predetermined positions on theprotrusion to provide an entrance and an exit. A second plate is placedon the upper or lower portion of the first plate, and has a thin sheetand a plurality of protrusions which protrude along the length of thethin sheet in parallel. Here, a plurality of first and second plates isalternately layered.

The heat exchanger may further include a filter unit provided in anoutdoor air inlet or outdoor air outlet of the heat exchanger to removedust from outdoor air fed into a room. The filter unit includes aplurality of posts each having a semi-circular cross-section such thatan eddy is generated in the introduced outdoor air fed and the dustfalls down.

The plurality of posts may be arranged in multiple stages, and front andrear posts may alternate with each other.

A plurality of blowers may be mounted in the indoor air inlet and theindoor air outlet of the housing to ventilate the room.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the state in which the coverof an eco-friendly high-efficiency heat exchanger according to thepreferred embodiment of the present invention is open;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the state in which the coverof the eco-friendly high-efficiency heat exchanger according to thepreferred embodiment of the present invention is closed;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the state in which first andsecond plates according to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention are separated from each other;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating layered thin sheets and afilter unit according to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating the flow of air passing through thefilter unit according to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an air type heat exchanger according to the presentinvention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the state in which the coverof an air type heat exchanger according to the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention is open.

Referring to FIG. 1, the air type heat exchanger according to thepresent invention includes a housing 10, a first plate 30, a secondplate 40, a filter unit 60, and other parts.

First, the housing 10 will be described.

The housing 10 defines the main body of the air type heat exchanger.According to the preferred embodiment, the housing 10 of a rectangularshape has on both side surfaces thereof an indoor air inlet 12 throughwhich indoor air flows into the air type heat exchanger, and an indoorair outlet 14 through which air is discharged to the outside.

Further, a blower (not shown) is mounted either inside or outside ofeach of the indoor air inlet and the indoor air outlet to allow a roomto be smoothly ventilated.

Next, the plates 30 and 40 will be described.

Each plate 30 or 40 includes a thin sheet 32 or 42 which has the shapeof a rectangular thin plate and a protrusion which is provided on theupper surface of the thin sheet 32 or 42. A plurality of plates 30 and40 is layered in the housing 10.

The plurality of thin sheets 32 and 42 which are layered in this waydefines the passage through which outdoor air is sucked in anddischarged to a room, in addition to defining the passage fordischarging indoor air through both side surfaces of the plates to theoutside.

The plates will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the state in which the cover20 of the air type heat exchanger according to the preferred embodimentof the present invention is closed.

The housing 10 which is the main body of the air type heat exchanger iscovered with the cover 20. According to the preferred embodiment, acircular opening is formed in an outdoor air inlet 16 or outlet 18 topermit the circulation of outdoor air. The indoor air inlet 12 and theindoor air outlet 14 for exhausting indoor air are provided on both sidesurfaces of the housing 10, thus enabling indoor air to be naturallydischarged to the outside.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the state in which the firstand second plates 30 and 40 according to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention are separated from each other.

FIG. 3 shows the state in which the plates layered in the housing 10(FIG. 1) are separated from each other.

The plates comprise the first plates 30 and the second plates 40. Eachfirst plate 30 includes a thin sheet 32 which has the shape of a thinplate to be layered in the housing 10, and a protrusion 34 whichprotrudes along the edge of the thin sheet 32 and is open atpredetermined positions to provide an entrance 36 and an exit 38. Eachsecond plate 40 is inserted between the top and bottom of the firstplates 30, and includes a thin sheet 42 which has the shape of a thinplate, and a plurality of protrusions 44 which protrude in parallelalong the length of the thin sheet 42.

In detail, the first and second plates 30 and 40 are alternately layeredsuch that the second plate 40 is superposed on the first plate 30 andthe first plate 30 is superposed on the second plate 40.

Thus, the protrusion 34 protruding along the edge of the outer surfaceof the first plate 30 is in contact with the lower surface of the secondplate 40, thus sealing the interior of the first plate 30. Thereby, aircan flow only through the entrance 36 and the exit 38 which are open atboth sides of the first plate 30.

Further, the plurality of protrusions 44 is arranged in parallel alongthe second plate 40 in a horizontal direction thereof. The protrusions44 are in contact with the lower surface of the first plate 30, so thatthe left and right sides of the second plate 40 are sealed by theprotrusions 44. However, a protrusion is not provided on each of thefront and rear sides but is open, thus allowing outdoor air to flow in.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the layered first and secondplates 30 and 40 and the filter unit 60 according to the preferredembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a plate layer formed by alternately layering thefirst and second plates 30 and 40 is supported by support members 50 insuch a way that the plate layer is seated at a predetermined position inthe housing 10.

The support members 50 are attached to the upper, lower, left, right,front and rear surfaces of the plate layer so as to support the platelayer. The support member which is open at its front to allow outdoorair to flow into a room is attached to each of the front and rearsurfaces, and the support member which is open at one side to allowindoor air to be discharged to the outside is attached to each of theleft and right surfaces.

Further, according to the preferred embodiment, the filter unit 60 maybe installed in the outdoor air inlet 16 or outlet 1 8 of the heatexchanger after the plates are layered in the housing 10, thus removingdust from outdoor air.

In detail, the filter unit 60 comprises a plurality of poles each havinga semi-circular cross-section to generate an eddy in the introducedoutdoor air, thus allowing dust to fall down. Here, the filter unit 60is installed such that the concave portion of each semi-circular polefaces the air inflow direction.

Particularly, the filter unit 60 comprises the plurality of poles whichare arranged in multiple stages. Here, the poles are arranged such thatfront poles and rear poles alternate with each other.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating the flow of air passing through thefilter unit according to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 shows the state in which when outdoor air is introduced into theheat exchanger and passes through the filter unit, the eddy is generatedin the outdoor air.

In detail, the eddy is generated when the outdoor air collides with thefilter unit. Thereby, when the outdoor air passes through the filterunit, dust laden in the outdoor air is deposited and falls down.

Thus, when outdoor air flows into the heat exchanger, fine dust isremoved by the filter unit 60, so that only purified air can beintroduced into a room. Since the filter unit 60 has a structure whichcan be produced at low cost in addition to eliminating dust, it can beseen that the filter unit 60 is a practical and superior device.

Hereinafter, the operation of the heat exchanger according to thepresent invention will be described.

First, the air type heat exchanger of the present invention is mountedto one side of a wall in such a way as to communicate with the exterior.

Outdoor air is introduced into the heat exchanger through the openingformed in the outdoor air inlet 16, and collides with the filter unit 60so that fine dust laden in the outdoor air is deposited, before theoutdoor air passes through the second plate 40.

Further, the protrusions 44 provided on the upper surface of the secondplate 40 in the longitudinal direction of the housing 10 guide the flowof the air, thus allowing the outdoor air to flow into the room. Anotherfilter unit 60 may be also installed in the outdoor air outlet 18, thussecondarily removing fine dust.

When wind is artificially generated using the blower (not shown), airstaying in a room flows into the indoor air inlet 12 of the housing 10,and then passes through the first plate 30.

The contaminated indoor air passing through the indoor air inlet 12 ofthe housing 10 flows through the open portion, which is provided at apredetermined position of the first plate 30 and has no protrusion, tothe outside. If the blower (not shown) is installed even in the indoorair outlet 14, the smooth flow of air is realized, so that indoor aircan be easily discharged to the outside.

As such, while indoor air which is contaminated and warm is dischargedthrough the first plate 30 to the outside, and cold outdoor air flowsthrough the second plate 40 into a room, the heat exchange process isnaturally performed.

Further, while the air fed from the exterior passes through the filterunit 60, fine dust is removed from the air, prior to being introducedinto a room. Therefore, owing to purified air, a pleasant indoorenvironment is realized.

As described above, the present invention provides an eco-friendlyhigh-efficiency heat exchanger, in which first and second thin sheetlayers are alternately layered, so that while indoor and outdoor airpasses through the thin sheet layers, warm indoor air is discharged toan outside and cold outdoor air is introduced into a room, thusnaturally performing a heat exchange process.

Further, the present invention provides an eco-friendly high-efficiencyheat exchanger, which has the function of purifying air by removing finedust from outdoor air flowing into the heat exchanger, and has a simpleconstruction, so that manufacturing cost is low and thus a product isinexpensive and economical.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1. An eco-friendly high-efficiency heat exchanger for exchanging indoor air with outdoor air, comprising: a housing defining a main body of the heat exchanger, and having on both sides thereof an indoor air inlet for introducing the indoor air into the housing and an indoor air outlet for discharging the indoor air from the housing; a first plate inserted into the housing, and having a thin sheet and a protrusion which is provided along an edge of the thin sheet in such a way as to protrude out, and which is open at predetermined positions on the protrusion to provide an entrance and an exit; a second plate placed on an upper or lower portion of the first plate, and having a thin sheet and a plurality of protrusions which protrude along a length of the thin sheet in parallel, wherein a plurality of first and second plates are alternately layered.
 2. The eco-friendly high-efficiency heat exchanger as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: a filter unit provided in an outdoor air inlet or outdoor air outlet of the heat exchanger to remove dust from outdoor air fed into a room, the filter unit comprising a plurality of posts each having a semi-circular cross-section such that an eddy is generated in the introduced outdoor air fed and the dust falls down.
 3. The eco-friendly high-efficiency heat exchanger as set forth in claim 2, wherein the plurality of posts is arranged in multiple stages, and front and rear posts alternate with each other.
 4. The eco-friendly high-efficiency heat exchanger as set forth in claim 1, wherein a plurality of blowers is mounted in the indoor air inlet and the indoor air outlet of the housing to ventilate the room. 